MI5 ‘used James Bond clause over the torture of detainees’

British security services used a ‘James Bond-style get-out clause’ to collude in the torture of terror suspects, it has been claimed.

A number of suspects arrested in Pakistan at the request of Britain have claimed that they were repeatedly tortured by the country’s notorious Inter-Services Intelligence Agency (ISI). The men were then questioned by MI5.

Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR), which is made up of MPs and peers, is to question Home Secretary Jacqui Smith over the allegations today as part of a wider investigation into the UN charter against torture.

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Andrew Dismore, chair of the JCHR, said a combination of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994 led him to conclude ‘that the security services may be operating under a James Bond-style get-out clause’.

Mr Dismore said that the allegations – which centre on British-based citizens – were so serious that the committee would call Ms Smith to give evidence.